LONDON, England, September 20, 2002 — Parts of the Bible have been re-written by Christians to appeal to people who use their cell phones to send text messages. The book to be published later this month is called, r father n hvn: up 2 d8 txts frm d bible.
Cover of text Bible entitled: r father n hvn: up 2 d8 txts frm d bible.
Edited by Simon Jenkins, published by Westminster John Knox Press
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Simon Jenkins, editor of the British based Christian webzine www.ship-of-fools.com, had the idea for the book after reading about a German pastor who preached a sermon to young people by sending them text messages.
"More and more Christians are using mobile phones to send friends brief meditations, prayers and spiritual encouragement," he said.
"We saw an opportunity to make the Bible accessible to today's youth culture, so we re-wrote parts of the Bible for a generation that rarely darkens the doors of the local church."
Many of the messages were composed by visitors to the ship-of-fools website
Jenkins asked his shipmates to send in their most-enjoyed bits of the Bible, boiled down to the size of a txt msg. "Reading the txts they sent is entertaining, but also intriguing, because it wasn't just about squeezing verses to fit onto the small screen. It meant getting to the heart of what the Good Book is saying and then translating it into the language of now. " said Jenkins.
They include an updated version of the '10 Com&ments' - 'God: "Im No.1. No pix, plz. Uz my name nicely.
Day7=holy. Take care of mum'n'dad. Don't kill, scrU round, steal or lie. Keep yr hands (&eyz) off wot isnt yrs.
The book also includes a chapter called "round d Bble in 58 txts", giving the gist of each book of the Bible in a single txt msg. It also has a chapter of biblical emoticons, including...
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Biblical Emoticons
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| 0:-) |
Angel |
| X0:-) |
Fallen angel |
| 3:-{#> |
The evil one |
| 0(:-{)} |
Jesus |
| +{{{:-) |
The Pope |
| :-/ >+ |
Sceptical believer |
| B-D >+ |
Desmond Tutu |
| @:-) 3 |
Delilah |
| ( 8^(1) >+ |
Homer gets religion |
| 8^#) >+ |
Ned Flanders |
Other chapters cover txt blessings, 911 call prayers, psalms, R4thr URN hvn and d gr8est is luv.
The book will be published this fall by Westminster John Knox Press and will sell for $8.95.
Source: Bible Network News, with notes from Annanova
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